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Wynn Resorts admits fault: Company Fined, but Won’t Lose Licenses

The Wynn Resorts company has agreed to a discipline complaint and settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) in regard to its failures to act on matters of alleged sexual misconduct by former CEO Steve Wynn.

The agreement was first
reported in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday morning.

While the action levied a
large, still unspecified, financial penalty, it also indicated it would not
seek to revoke or limit any of the company’s licenses to operate casinos in Las
Vegas. That was something seen as a positive for the company in regard to the
local Encore Boston Harbor casino slated to open in June.

Though the Massachusetts
Gaming Commission (MGC) has had a parallel investigation on the matter, Nevada
was the first regulatory agency to reveal its report and take action on the
sexual misconduct allegations. It was also the first time the Wynn company has
publicly acknowledged that high-level executive turned a “blind eye” to alleged
misdeeds by Steve Wynn.

That included, within the
NGCB complaint, the allegations by a manicurist that she was raped by Steve
Wynn and impregnated, something she is said in the complaint to have told
several high-level managers, with none taking any action. Two other complaints
of harassment or alleged forced sexual conduct are also detailed from two other
women in the complaint.

Elaine Driscoll of the MGC
said they are looking at the conclusions in Nevada. The MGC has completed its
investigation into the matter, but has been barred legally by Steve Wynn from
disclosing that investigation publicly. That case is still pending in a Nevada
court.

“The MGC is closely
reviewing the investigative conclusions issued by the Nevada Gaming Control
Board,” said Driscoll “We are committed to and actively engaged in resolving
the litigation in Nevada. We remain eager to present our investigatory findings
publicly as soon as possible.”

Wynn Resorts, in a statement
after the release of the materials, said it had made numerous changes since the
first reports of sexual misconduct surfaced in a Wall Street Journal report one
year ago. It also said in agreeing to the settlement that if fell short in
protecting employees.

“The completion of the
NGCB’s investigation of the response of certain employees to allegations
against our founder and previous CEO Steve Wynn is an important remedial step,”
read the statement. “We have fully cooperated and been transparent with the
Board in this in-depth investigation. We look forward to appearing before the
Nevada Gaming Commission to review the settlement and establish the final
resolution of the investigation.

“Upon learning of the extent
of the allegations, the new leadership of Wynn Resorts took immediate actions
to ensure an open and safe work environment for all employees and made dramatic
changes at every level of key decision-making in the Company,” it continued.
“As an example, any employee mentioned in the NGCB report who was aware of
allegations of sexual assault against the company’s former chairman and did not
investigate or report it is no longer with the company.”

The statement also said the
company had gone through a rigorous self-examination over the last year – which
included its own independent investigation and changes at all levels of the
organization.

Philip G. Satre, Chairman of
the Board of Wynn Resorts, said he has been impressed with the movement of the
company on the issue since he come on last August.

“In my extensive experience
working in the highly regulated gaming industry I have never seen a company
take action that was as swift and comprehensive as the executive team at Wynn
Resorts,” he said. “Much of that occurred before I joined the Board in August
2018, however I believe our board’s follow-up and reaction to the regulatory
investigations has been just as thorough and decisive.”

Many locally had wondered if
current CEO Matt Maddox might be implicated in any of the investigations, but
he wasn’t named in the NGCB complaint as someone who ignored complaints about
Steve Wynn. Those who were named are no longer with the company, and include
Marc Schorr (former COO), Doreen Whennen (former VP of hotel operations), Arte
Nathan (former human resources director). Others that are alleged to have ignored
complaints were Stacie Michaels (former general counsel), Kevin Tourek (former
general counsel), Kim Sinatra (former general counsel) and Maurice Wooden
(former Las Vegas president).

The NGCB investigation was
based on numerous taped interviews over the past year, much like that of the
MGC investigation.

One of the top changes the
company pointed to in bringing about quick change was appointing Maddox as the
new CEO and executing a separation agreement with Steve Wynn – all only months
after the allegations were made public in the newspaper.

Other changes detailed by
the company included:

•Commenced a robust Board
refreshment process and, as of today, the median tenure of our eight
independent directors is now less than two years. In April 2018, the Board elected
three new female directors, resulting in a Board that is now nearly 50 percent
women. In August 2018, the Board elected Philip G. Satre as Vice Chairman and
Richard Byrne as a Director. In November 2018, Mr. Satre succeeded D. Boone
Wayson as Chairman.

•Any employee who was aware
of allegations of sexual assault against Steve Wynn and did not investigate or
report it is no longer with the company.

•Appointed Rose Huddleston,
a seasoned human resources executive, to the newly created corporate position
of Senior Vice President of Human Resources-North America.

•Refocused efforts on the
company’s workplace culture by making it a priority for the company’s new Human
Resources leadership.

•Launched enhanced Workplace
Compliance and Prevention of Sexual Harassment training for all employees,
designed and delivered by a third-party expert.

•Launched a new Paid
Parental Leave program that provides six weeks of paid time off to new parents.
•Launched a new annual Wynn Employee Foundation
scholarship program, which has awarded ten $7,500 college scholarships to
employees and their dependents